Electrical apparatus



D. CONLAN, JR. ELECTRICAL APPARATUS.

APPLICATION mio nzc. 24. 1920.

Patentedl Dec.. 20, E921.

UNITED STATES PATENT orifice.

:DAVID CGNLIN, JR., 0F BROOKLYN, NEW YORK.

ELECTRICAL APPARATUS.

Monaca.

Application filed December 24, 1920. Serial No. 432,983.

To all whom z' may concern:

Be it known that I, DAVID CoNLAN, Jr., a citizen of the United States,and a. resident of Brooklyn, Kings county, and State of New York, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Electrical Apparatus, ofwhich the following isa specification.

My present invention relates to current extension apparatus for marineand water tight uses.

fs The objects of the invention are to prvide commercially practicableand desirable apparatus of the character referred to, which will beuseful for a great variety of purposes. l

In the accompanying drawings I have illustrated different practicalembodiments of the invention, but wish it understood that suchvillustration is primarily for purposes of disclosure and that variouschanges and modifications may be resorted to withoutv departure from thetrue spirit and scope of the invention as hereinafter dened and claimed.

In the drawings referred to,`Figure l is a longitudinal sectional viewof several of the different units connected inoperative relation,certain of the parts appearing in elevation. Fig. -la is a vfragmentarysectionall view illustrating a detail of construction.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged plan View of the second switch unit, which carriesthe through-circuit and also controls a cord outlet. i

Fig. 3 is an enlarged cross sectional view as taken en substantially theplane of line 3-3 of Fig. l.

Fig. 4 is a detail plan view ofthe detachable fuse disk. Fig.V 4a is abroken sectional view of the snap fastening for the fuse disk. v

In Fig. I -have illustrated a set of six ofthe units joined asdetachable elements of a pair of extensible bus bars.

The first element, designated by the reference character A, servessimply as a current .outlet, being provided with contacts forvengagement by the projecting blades of the second element B whichconstitutes a throughswitch for controlling the Succeeding units. Thethird unit C carries the.

elements of the through-circuit and also a switch controlling a' cordcircuit. The

fourth element D is a Athrough-circuit mem# ber having attached to itsblades a fuse disk at E for the protection of the cord circuit extendingtherefrom. The neX't element F of the set is a fuse unit carryingcartridge fuses protecting the succeeding units. The next unit G' is athrough-circuit unit provided with a current outlet to receive the plugof a cord circuit.

` The irst or primary outlet member cornprises a base l5 provided withwire termi nals 16 and having insulating sockets 17 in which are locatedspring terminal contacts :18. for engagement by the blades of theadjoining unit. n

This base, like the bases of the succeeding units, is supported in awater-tight casing, which consists in this particular instance of asurrounding sleeve or collar 19 provided at its lower end with aninturned flange 20 for the support of the base and having connected withits upper end a head or cover 2l provided with a screw threaded neck forengagement with the piping of a,

conduit system. The sleeve element 19 is shown as having a screwthreaded lower end 22 to receive the coupling flange 23 of the adjoiningunit. rllhis coupling flange or ring is shownV as held to the shell 19of the adjoining 'unit by a ring 24.screwed onto the upper end of theshell soas to form a shoulder for the inturned flange 25 of thecoupling, said ring 24 also having an inwardly extending llange 26overlying the` switch structure having a movable contact 27 operated bypush buttons 28' and arranged to bridge the relatively stationarycontacts 29, 30, the first, of which is connected with one of theprojecting'bladesjl at one endof the switch and the latter of which isconnected with a contact 32 seated 'in an insulating pocket 33 in theopposite end of the switch and standing in position to be engaged byonel of the projecting blades 34 of the succeeding unit. The othervprojecting blade 35 of the-'through-circuit controlling switch is shownas directly connected by means of a screw-36 or the like with a terminalcontact 37 seated in al recess 38 in the bottom of the switch inposition to be engaged by the other projecting blade 39 of thesucceeding unit. The push buttons or operating devices of the switchdescribed arc shown as protected by suitable waterproof diaphragms 4()of rawhide. or the like. Y

The water-tight shell of the section described, and in fact the shellsof all the sections may be provided with outstanding flanges such as Ihave shown at 4l above the threaded lower ends thereof to prevent injuryto the screw threads yas for instance when the devices are knocked aboutthe deck of a ship. The project-ing blades 3l. 39 by which the unit C iscoupled in circuit, are both connected by through screws 42 with currentextension terminals 43 seated in insulating sockets in the lower' end ofthis unit and arranged for engagement by the projecting blades 44 of thenext unit D. As shown more clearly iii Fig. 2, one of the contactblades. 34, is provided with a binding post -15 to receive one wire ofthe cord circuit 46 and the other wire of the cord circuit is connectedwith a binding post 47 which is electrically` connected as by means of ascrew 4S with the switch mechanism indicated generali)7 at it). theother side of said switch mechanism being connected as by means of thescrew 50 with the base of the other contact blade 39.

In this manner a continuation circuit is pro-- vided through the unitand the switch which it carries controls a branch outlet or cordcircuit'for an exploration lamp or the like. A gland or suitablewater-tight packing is shown provided at 51 where the cord 16 leaves thewater-tight casing.

The through-circuit unit D like the preceding unit has sockets in itslower end containmg terminal posts 52 connected with the pro- ,.'ectingblades 44 at the upper end thereof.

h1s unit also has a cord outlet, as I have' indicated at 53, and thiscord circuit is protected by fuse links 54 (Fig. 4) carried by a i diskor concealed between disks of insulating material which haveeyelets 56to lit over and make electrical. contact with the connecting-in blades44 and elements'r similarto one of the members of a so-called snapfastener which engage corresponding intertitting elements 58 on theterminal plates. 59

A which are provided withbinding posts 60 for ing-in blades andreplacing the same with a new fuse disk.

-Xt the extension unit I" the through-circuit is fused by means ofcartridge fuses 61 seated in sockets in the insulating base of thismember and' electrically connected at their upper ends with theconnecting-in blades 62 and electrically connected at their lower endswith the circuit extension contacts G3 seated in the insulating socketsin the lower end of this unit. These fuses are shown as resting onsprings G-l at their lower ends electrically connected with theextension terminals and as held in their sockets at the upper ends bythe screw 65 in electrical connection with the bases of thcconnecting-in blades 62.

The last ofthe through-circuit units shown in Fig. l has a pair of theconnecting-in blades (5G atthe upper end thereof and is .provided as inthe preceding cases'with current extension terminals 67 in insulatingsockets in itslower end to enable the connection of other units incircuit. This member has a branch outlet consisting of a pair of plates68. arranged to receive the projecting blades 69 of the attachmentplugT0 of the cord circuit and electricallyconnected with the throughconnectors 71 of this member. 'hen no more units are to be added, thesockets in the end of the last member may be protected by a water-tightcap 72 screwed onto the'lower threaded end ofthe last casing.

rThe example given is just one illustration of the way in which theunitsmay be coupled and it will be understood that these units may beconnected in many different relations 'to meet various requirements.-The first "switch unit controls the through-circuit and hence controlsthe circuit of any and all succeeding units which may be coupledthereto. The second switch unit on the other hand merely controls thecord or branch circuit led off therefrom and provides throughconnections for the next member. The branch circuit member D provides athrough connection and by reason of the detachable fuse disk and thespecial connections associated therewith protects the branch circuit.The unit F which is plugged into the unit D provides fuses in bothsidesof the through-circuit so that the succeeding unit or units are coupledin o'n a fused line.. This is quite desirable where the units areextended beyond a certain point. The last unit shown (G) providesthrough-circuit connections (not utilized in this particular case) and abranch outlet receiving the blades of an attachment plu-g. This outletmay receive the blades of any of the other units illustrated anddescribed. cord circuit at this point wereto control a soldering iron orthe like, one of the throughcircuit controlling switches such asillustrated at B might be interposed at this point For instance, if thethe tlnough-circuit or the branch circuits,

etc., and that as said units are readily interchangeable, variouscombinations can be easily effected to suit different requirements.rll`he marine fittings have the advantage that the units aremechanically coupled together so that any separa-ting strains will betaken care of by these mechanical connections, thereby relieving theelectrical plug connections of all strain. I have not attempted to showall the uses to which the invention may be put or all the various waysin which it may be modified, and I therefore wish it understood that theterms which I have used. in disclosing and claiming this invention areused in a descriptive rather than in a limiting sense, except as may berequired by the prior art. j

What I claim is: y

1. A continuous electrical outlet comprising a sectional tubular casing,of short casmg sections connected by means provlding' readily separablewater-tight joints, insulating bases secured-in said casing sectionsWith their opposite ends exposed at the oppositeends of the respectivesections, circuitcontinuing connections extending through said bases andcomplementary connecting-in contacts and through-circuit terminals atthe opposite exposed ends ofthe individual bases and inl circuit withsaid through-connections, the Water-tight connecting means of the casingsections being-constructed, to enable the j electrical engagement of thecomplementary contacts and terminals lwhen adjacent casing Sections arecoupled together.

2. A continuous electrical outlet comprising al sectional tubularcasing, of short casing sections connected by means providing readilyseparable Water-tight joints, insulat-` ing bases secured in said casingsections with vtheir opposite ends exposed at the opposite ends of therespective sections, circuit-continuing connections extending throughsaid bases and complementary connecting-in contacts and through-circuitterminals at the opposite exposed ends of the individual bases andincircuit with said through-connections, the water-tight connect-mgmeans of the cas'- 'ing sections being constructed to enable theelectrical engagement of the complementary contacts and terminals Whenadjacent caslng sections are coupled together, one of said casingsections having means providing a Water-tight branch circuit out-let andone of the'insulating bases having branch terminals for said outlet.

3. A continuous electrical outlet comprising a sectional tubular casingof lshort casing Sections provided with shoulders and con- .nected bymeans providing readily separable Watertight joints, insulating basessupported on the shoulders within said casing sections with theiropposite ends exposed at the opposite ends of the respective sections`circuitcontinuing connections extending through said bases,connecting-in blades and complementary through-circuitsocket ter-'minals at the opposite exposed ends of the individual bases and incircuit with said through-connections, the water-tight connectlng meansof the casing sections heilig constructed to enable the engagement ot'the complementary blades and socket. terminals when adjacent casingsections are coupled together.

4. A continuous electrical outlet comprising a sectional'tubular casing,ot' shortcasing sections, each oi said casing sections provided at itsopposite ends with the complementary parts of a readily detachablewatertight-coupling for mechanically securing `together.adjacent casingsections in V,'Water-tight relation, insulating basessecured'insaidc'asin` sections with their opposite ends expose at theopposite ends ot the respective sections, circuit-continuing connectionsextending' through said bases and ycomplementary connecting-in contactsand through-,circuit terminals at the opposite ends of the individualbases and in circuit with said through-connections, the complementarymembers of the Water-tight coupling means being constructed to enableelectrical engagement of thel complementary contacts and terminals whenadjacent casing sections are coupled together in their watertightrelation.`

5. A continuous electrical outlet comprising a sectional tubular casing,of short casing sections, each of said casing sections provided at itsopposite ends with the complementary vparts 0f a readily detachableWater-tight coupling for mechanically' securing togetherv adjacentcasing sections in Water-tight relation, insulating bases secured o withsaid through-connections, the complementary members out the Water-tightcoupling. means being constructed l. to enable electrlcal engagement ofthe complementary contacts and terminals when adjacent casing sectionsare coupled together, a primary outlet unit having a casing providedwith a coupling member' complementary to the coupling members of theother casing units and containing terminals for a feed circuit withelectrically connected through-circuit terminals complementary -to theconnectingin contacts ot' other casing sections and a water-tight coverunit having a coupling member complementary to the coupling members otother casing sections and the coupling member of the primary outletcasing section. whereby said cover may be applied as a water-tightclosure either direct to the primary outlet casing or to the end of acasing section coupled to Vthe primary outlet casing.

G. A water-tight electrical connecting unit comprising a tubular casingsection having the complementary members of a Watertight coupling at theopposite ends thereof, an insulating hase secured in said casing sectionwith its opposite ends exposed at the opposite ends of saidsectionfcircuit continuing connections extending through said base andcomplementary connecting-in contacts and through-circuit terminals onthe opposite exposed ends of the base and in circuit with saidthrough-connections, branch circuit terminals on the base, the casingsection having anoutlet for said branch circuit terminals and awater-tight packing at said branch outlet.

7 A continuons electrical 'outlet comprising insulating bases inendto-end relation, means mounting the respective bases and connected inwatertight inclosing relation thereto, complementary connecting-incontacts and through-circuit terminals at the opposite ends of therespective insulating bases and electrically connected to providethrough-circuit connections when adjoining bases are coupled together intheir watertight relation, a primary outlet unit provided with terminalsfor feed circuits, electricallyv connected tlnoughf-circuit terminalscomplementary to the connecting-in contacts of other units andwater-tight coupling means complementary' to the coupling means of otherunits, to thereby enable the coupling of such other units to saidprimary outlet unit and a water-tight cover provided with coupling meanscomplementary to the coupling means of said primary outlet unit and ofthe several sections aforesaich In witness whereof, I have hereunto setmy hand this 22nd day of December, 1920.

DAVID CONLAN, JR.

